


Pings (alternate ver. where kuroo doesn't die)

by barfs



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Car Accidents, Head Injury, Hospitals, M/M, kuroo's ok i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 21:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3397250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barfs/pseuds/barfs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:24:44 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: You told me to message you as soon as I saw your message. So, here I am. By the way, I’m not a douche.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:24:50 PM] Tsukishima Kei: You are. Also, welcome back.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:24:55 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: You say that like I ever left to begin with.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:24:59 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: I told you; you’re stuck with me for a long, long time.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:25:02 PM] Tsukishima Kei: Good.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>[4/23/16, 7:25:04 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: Good.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pings (alternate ver. where kuroo doesn't die)

**Author's Note:**

> ["you swore you'd be here 'til we decide that it's our time / but it's not time, you never quit in all your life"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT-5NY83OYI)  
>  to be read with or without having read the original [pings](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3268115/chapters/7126952)  
> (though it's probably better if you do or have already read the original first..)

Tsukishima knew that there was something wrong the second that he came out of the shower. The quiet hush of his parent’s speaking on the floor beneath him dwindled down to nothing the second that the bathroom door shut, and as inconspicuous as his parents tried to make it, the quieter they got, the more curious Tsukishima became. 

The landline rang while he was in the shower—he knew that much. While he knew that a phone call in the middle of the night never spelled out good news, Tsukishima didn’t think much of it. It was probably a telemarketer, a prank phone call, nothing of significance for Tsukishima to mull over for too long. It couldn’t have been Kuroo. There was no reason for Kuroo to attempt to reach him by his home phone when their main modes of communication were texts and Skype messages that chimed with quiet pings that—after a while—became annoying to Tsukishima, and yet he had never gotten around to changing the settings of his computer to silence them. Those quiet pings became a part of his life shortly after Kuroo whisked him off of his feet. Without them, Tsukishima had a feeling that his life would become too quiet for his own liking. If he thought about it, each ping may as well have been a kiss on the cheek or a hushed “I love you.”

Kuroo hadn’t been gone for more than three hours, making it safe to assume that he dozed off on the train ride back to campus if he hadn’t arrived there already by now. He could vaguely recall the sound of an ambulance and cop cars rushing by just a few blocks down a few hours ago, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. In the shower, Tsukishima hoped that Kuroo wouldn’t miss his stop and end up in the middle of nowhere all because he wanted to spend a few more hours making out on a couch. He could be such a handful sometimes, and yet, Tsukishima couldn’t bring himself to hate it.

Early on in their relationship, Tsukishima made sure make Kuroo promise that he would text him when he got home safely. Kuroo turned his nose up at him, called him overbearing, smiled and reminded Tsukishima that he ‘Never, ever broke any promises,’ and so far, he did a good job of upholding it.

But Tsukishima didn’t hear cell phone didn’t go off while he was in the shower despite keeping his phone on the bathroom countertop with the ringer on it’s loudest setting. 

“Kei, could you come downstairs?”

Tsukishima grits his teeth at the sound of his father’s voice calling him from downstairs, his hand tightening around his phone as if it would ring if he squeezed it hard enough. Just one text, one call, one faint ping of his computer from his room and the weight would be lifted off of his shoulders. 

“Yeah, just let me get dressed.”  
“Take your time.”

* * *

_[4/19/16, 2:13:48 AM] Tsukishima Kei: Kuroo, message me as soon as you see this._  
 _[4/19/16, 2:13:52 AM] Tsukishima Kei: Or call me, either works._  
 _[4/19/16, 2:13:59 AM] Tsukishima Kei: I’m probably freaking out over nothing, but don’t be an douche for once in your life._  
 _[4/19/16, 2:14:04 AM] Tsukishima Kei: I’m not mad at you, I’m just checking to make sure you’re okay._  
 _[4/19/16, 2:14:08 AM] Tsukishima Kei: Talk to you soon._

* * *

Walking into the kitchen to see his mother’s cheeks wet with tears and his father with his jaw clenched tight was far from how he wanted to spend a weeknight. Tsukishima glances at his mother, who turns her head away to avoid eye contact, and then he looks back up at his father.

“Yes?”

Rather than jumping to the conclusion that something catastrophic happened, Tsukishima rakes his mind for anything that he could have done in the past few days that constituted his parents scolding him at two in the morning. Nothing comes to mind, and for once Tsukishima hopes that his parents called him downstairs to ground him or give him a stern talking to. 

His father thins his lips, and Tsukishima could practically hear the gears turning in his head. He always thought of his father to be good with words, which was why he assumed it was him shouldering the burden of trying to find the right words and not his mother. In his peripheral vision, Tsukishima catches a glimpse of his mother rubbing at her eyes and murmuring incoherent words under her breath, and he swallows dryly. If it were earlier in the day, she would have had mascara smeared under her eyes and on the heels of her hands. 

“There was a… Kuroo… He—“  
“Is he okay?”

Tsukishima knew better than to interrupt his father when he spoke, but the second that Kuroo’s name left his mouth, there was no stopping himself from blurting out. It was a miracle in itself that he managed not to spew question after question or to pry the phone from his dad’s hand to redial the number of whomever he had been speaking with so that he could hear for himself what happened to his boyfriend. 

“He…” His father trails off, and Tsukishima darts his eyes to his mother as she sobs. Suddenly he was too aware of every sound in the kitchen, from the hum of the refrigerator to the ticking of the wall clock, it was all too loud and none resembled the pinging of his computer that he wanted to hear more than any bad news his father had to say or cries that his mother had to choke out.

“He what?” Tsukishima snaps, hands balling into fists at his sides while trying to block out all noises aside from the ones leaving his father’s mouth. He could see his lips moving, and he could see his mother hold her face in her hands, but the words came too slowly and didn’t sync. By the time that the words ‘accident’ and ‘hospital’ reached him, the linoleum beneath his feet may as well have become water.

‘Accident’ and ‘hospital’ were the last words that Tsukishima wanted to hear from his parents after a two in the morning phone call—especially when they followed his boyfriend’s name. The audacity of his parents to say Kuroo’s name in that context was infuriating, but Tsukishima doesn’t dare cry.

The last time he could remember crying was when he was six years old, and he fell over playing catch with his brother. He could remember it hurting, but it didn’t hurt nearly as much as his father’s hand as it came down to rest on his shoulder in what he attempted to be a comforting gesture. It hurt his chest, his head, and Tsukishima grabs at the kitchen counter to keep himself steady now that he didn’t trust his knees to hold his weight.

The words ‘dead’ or ‘dying’ don’t come up, and that was the only thing keeping Tsukishima from doubling over the kitchen sink to throw up everything he ate that day.

Tsukishima clears his throat, only speaking when he was positive that his voice wouldn’t crack or waver. He wanted to be strong—he had to be strong. Both his parents were doing piss-poor jobs of keeping a strong front. While his dad was trying, Tsukishima could see how he clenched the phone the same way he clenched his own after coming out of the shower.

“Is he okay?”  
“He’s in the hospital.”  
“I know that, you just told me. I asked if he’s _okay_.” 

Tsukishima didn’t enjoy talking to his parents in that tone of voice. He made sure to be polite and proper with his elders, just as he had been raised to. But every word that his dad said made it harder and harder for Tsukishima to remember any manners.

“I don’t know. But he’s alive.”

‘Alive’ wasn’t good enough, but Tsukishima would take it.

“I want to go see him.”  
“Kei… I don’t think that’s a good idea right now…”  
“I want to see him.”  
“I’m sure visiting hours are over—“  
“I’ll walk there myself.”

His father tenses, and Tsukishima narrows his eyes behind his glasses. That would strike a nerve with him. He knew it would.

“I’ll take you, Kei.” Tsukishima stiffly turns his head around to face his mother who spoke her first coherent words since he came downstairs. She wipes at her bloodshot eyes with the back of her hands while Tsukishima nods and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his shorts to dig out his phone. There weren’t any texts, calls, or Skype messages for him to respond to.

“Thank you.”

His voice trembles, and his father wraps his arms around his shoulders in a hug that he could hardly process when the only things that he could feel anymore were the phone in his hand and the water filling his lungs.

* * *

The drive to the hospital was as agonizing as the conversation with his father in the kitchen. Tsukishima makes sure to buckle himself in considering how his mother spent more time rubbing at her eyes than she did keeping her hands on the steering wheel. But he couldn’t complain. She was kind enough to drive him to the hospital to see Kuroo in the dead of night, after all. Tsukishima also didn’t think that he could speak; much less complain without choking on words.

On the way to the hospital, Tsukishima catches a glimpse of police lights flickering at the corner of the street where he and his brother would toss each other volleyballs when they were younger. The intersection had been closed off, but there weren’t any vehicles. No cop cars, nothing. Whoever hit Kuroo had sped off without a trace, and Tsukishima digs his nails into the palms of his hands.

His mother takes a detour, and it adds only a few minutes to the drive, but Tsukishima knew that those few minutes were minutes that he could be spending kicking Kuroo in the ass for being stupid enough to land himself in the hospital.

* * *

Hospitals were never all that bad to Tsukishima. They were organized and clean if he didn’t think about the disgusting amount of sick people coughing, hacking and bleeding on everything. Doctors were intelligent, nurses were kind, and while his only prior experience with hospitals was when he and his mother accompanied Akiteru to the emergency room in high school after he fractured an ankle during volleyball practice, Tsukishima always thought of hospitals as a place where people came to get better—not to die.

But this time Tsukishima could only see the sick and dying. There weren’t too many visitors aside from the people sleeping in the waiting room. Tsukishima wasn’t about to be one to sit with them while waiting for the news that his boyfriend was dead, dying, about to lose a limb, or never going to walk again. 

“Excuse me,” Tsukishima’s mother speaks up for him, her voice shaky and warbled from crying. Her tears stopped flowing, but she still looked terrible. “We’re looking for Kuroo Tetsurou’s room.” 

The nurse that his mother had stopped didn’t look all too amused, and Tsukishima corrects his prior memory of nurses being kind. No one could be kind in this place.

“Visitation hours are over, ma’am.”  
“We’re f… family.”

Tsukishima’s voice cracks and he could tell that the nurse was less than convinced that they were related. Still, she gives an indignant sigh before flipping through the clipboard held in the crook of her elbow. Obviously she had better things to be doing than entertaining a teenager and his crying mother.

“His room is down the hall, fourth room on the right.” The nurse’s eyes wander over the paper, glancing up once she finishes double-checking her directions. “He’s a lucky guy.” She continues, and Tsukishima furrows his brows. He wasn’t sure if Kuroo was lucky to be alive or to have visitors, but he doesn’t bother aking. He would rather find out for himself.

* * *

Four and a half hours had passed since Tsukishima gave Kuroo a kiss on the lips and told him to be safe on his way back to school. In the span of four and a half hours, Tsukishima waved Kuroo goodbye, cleaned the living room of crumpled bags of junk food and half-empty soda cans, did his homework, taken a shower, had his father give him the worst news that he heard in his entire young life, and drove past the intersection where Kuroo may have lost a leg or broken his neck.

Four and a half hours without Kuroo felt like ages, but Tsukishima reminds himself that it could be worse.

He reminds himself that Kuroo could be dead, and as bad as it sounded, Tsukishima felt better thinking about it. Kuroo wasn’t dead, and if he were, then Tsukishima didn’t think that he would ever be able to—or even want to—pull his head out of the water.

* * *

Tsukishima walks past the first room on the right. Inside he catches a glimpse of a family sitting beside an elderly man lying in a hospital bed. He hears the sound of his heart beating through the EKG, and while it was slow, each pulse sounded as strong as the last. The will to live in that old man was impressive. Tsukishima hopes that Kuroo would be the same.

The EKG didn’t ping. It was more of a beep, but Tsukishima would take what he could get and pretend that each beat of the man’s heart was his boyfriend sending him message after message about how stupid he was for worrying so much. 

Past the second door on the right, Tsukishima glances inside for a fraction of a second to see a young girl illuminated by the machines surrounding her and tangling her in their tubes and wires. If it weren’t for the neck brace and the casts over both her legs, Tsukishima would have thought that she were sleeping and not drugged to a point where she’d been stripped of her consciousness. 

The beeping of her EKG was faster than the one in first room and Tsukishima pretends that it’s his boyfriend messaging him again, now it being his turn to worry about where he went. 

The third door on the right was closed, but Tsukishima could see through the window to see that it was empty aside from a single hospital bed. It was made neatly without a single wrinkle in the sheets. 

Someone died, and died there pretty recently if no one else had been put in there yet. 

This time there wasn’t any beeping for Tsukishima to try and pass off as his boyfriend trying to reach him. 

The fourth door on the right was where the nurse said that Kuroo would be, and Tsukishima holds his breath as he approaches it slowly. His mother had taken to gripping onto his arm somewhere between the second and third door, and Tsukishima couldn’t find it in herself to push her off. 

Tsukishima listens for the beeping of the EKG before glancing inside. Suddenly the beeping of the first and second room cluttered his mind and made it hard to hear, and the silence of the third room was nothing short of deafening. His eyes screw shut, and Tsukishima reaches for the door to push it open.

“Tsukishima, right?”

Tsukishima freezes, not having taken half a step into the room before bumping into a woman that he could only assume is Kuroo’s mother. He never had the opportunity—or desire—to meet either of Kuroo’s parents despite having dated him for two years now. Kuroo was usually the one to come to his house, or Tsukishima would visit Kuroo at school. Kuroo would invite Tsukishima over to his house on countless occasions, but Tsukishima always found excuses along the lines of ‘I don’t want to go on the train for that long,’ or he would tell Kuroo that he’d cook for him if he came to his house. In all honesty, Tsukishima didn’t want to see Kuroo’s parents in fear of not living up to the high expectations that Kuroo had probably set. All he knew about his parents were that they were nice people and that Kuroo took after his father. He knew nothing about them, and now he was meeting them for the first time in a hospital. It was far from how he imagined that he would be introduced to Kuroo’s family, and Tsukishima couldn’t think of a worse possible scenario. 

No, he could think of a worse possible scenario. He could have been meeting Kuroo’s parents at Kuroo’s funeral, and thankfully that wasn’t the case. Now that the door had swung open, Tsukishima could hear the heart monitor inside the room, and it was more refreshing than any ping of his laptop or buzz of his phone. 

“Yes ma’am.” Tsukishima replies wearily, and he shifts his gaze to either side of him, then up to the ceiling, and then down at the ground between his feet. Eye contact was proving to be more awkward than he imagined, especially when Kuroo’s mother had eyes just as swollen as his own mom’s. 

“It’s nice meeting you.”  
“It’s nice meeting you too.”  
“Is his dad here?”  
“He stepped outside for a cigarette.”  
“Ah.”  
“I’m glad that you came out here, Tetsurou’s hasn’t stopped asking for you since I arrived.”

Kuroo was speaking. He was lucid and he remembered who he was and Tsukishima couldn’t be happier. For the first time since his father told him the news of Kuroo’s accident, Tsukishima didn’t feel as though he were drowning.

“Is he okay?”  
“Tsukki, I’m fine.”

The voice that answered was hoarse, but it was definitely recognizable. It was perfect, and it took every fiber of his being not to shove past Kuroo’s mother to finally see him after what felt like four and a half years, and not four and a half hours.

His eagerness to see Kuroo came through on his face more than intended, and Kuroo’s mother nudges past him and towards his own mom. They exchange formalities, hugs, and words of comfort before murmuring something about leaving the two of them alone for a few minutes. 

The EKG beeps steadily, and Tsukishima steps into the room in tandem with each pulse of Kuroo’s heart.

* * *

“Are you an idiot?”  
“Shh, Tsukki… Not so loud. My head hurts.”

Tsukishima was glad that he could be able to say that Kuroo was in much better condition than he expected him to be in. He braced himself for blood and lacerations, for missing limbs and an unrecognizable face, but Kuroo looked like Kuroo, and all his limbs were there. Scrapes and cuts ran the side of his face, and his hair looked more unruly than usual—if that were even possible. 

“Stupid, stupid idiot.”  
“Be happy that I’m not dead, jerk.”  
“You’re going to wish you were dead the second that you get discharged.” The threat held little merit when each word shook and strained his thoat. It held even less merit once Tsukishima plops down in a chair beside Kuroo’s bed. 

“I’m going to start wishing I were dead right now if you don’t talk quieter.”  
“I’m talking normally.”  
“Then talk quieter than normal.”

It was hard to feel bad for Kuroo after all the worrying that he put him through, but Tsukishima finds it in himself to at least pity him enough to lower his voice. He scoots closer to be heard, and in turn, Kuroo reaches for one of his hands.

“Are you okay?” A stupid question to ask, but Tsukishima couldn’t think of anything better.

“Pretty good for a guy that’s been hit by a car.”  
“You don’t have to act all tough, you know.”  
“No, I really am.”

Kuroo nods towards the IV bag hanging beside of him, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes. At least Kuroo wasn’t hurting too bad aside from the headache that he wouldn’t stop griping about. 

“Alright. Fine.” To think that he’d be bickering with his boyfriend just hours after a car hit him was astonishing, and while Tsukishima had never been the type to believe in miracles or a higher power, this time he would make an exception. “What happened to you, anyways?”

“Well, first of all, someone tried to run me over.”  
“Don’t be a smartass.”  
“Fine, fine.”  
“Also, hasn’t anyone taught you to look both ways before crossing the street?”  
“It was dark and the bastard didn’t have his headlights on.”  
“Right.”  
“I guess I smacked my head on the ground pretty hard afterwards, cause I don’t really remember anyone peeling me off the road and bringing me to the hospital.”  
“Gross.”  
“Yeah. I’m pretty lucky, though. Aren’t I?”  
“You are. The nurse outside said the same thing.”

Tsukishima furrows his brows as he mulls over the possible ways that Kuroo could have been hit to have him coming out relatively unscathed and smiling just hours later. The trajectory and speed of the car must have been awfully forgiving. 

“Is your head the only thing that hurts?”  
“Don’t say it like that, it hurts pretty fuckin’ bad.”

It couldn’t have been too minor of a head injury if Kuroo’s mom wasn’t as happy and chipper as her son, and while Tsukishima had a feeling that Kuroo was leaving out more important details, he would pry later.

“Stop worrying about me, though. Are you okay? You haven’t stopped looking like you’re about to hurl since you got here.” Kuroo’s voice stirs him back to reality, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes at the tease. “I’m just kidding, you know I am, babydoll.” Tsukishima shoves at Kuroo’s arm, and Kuroo smiles his stupid Cheshire cat smile.

“I’m sorry I don’t look my best in a hospital at ass-o’clock in the morning.”  
“I’ll forgive you. Just this once.”  
“You’re a saint.”  
“No, c’mere, Tsukki. Don’t be like that.”

Kuroo pulls on Tsukishima’s hand, and Tsukishima gets up onto his feet. If Kuroo hadn’t complaining about his head hurting, he would have ran his fingers through his hair. Or slapped him across the face.

“Did I scare you?”  
“Obviously.”  
“I didn’t mean to.”  
“Again, obviously.”

Tsukishima huffs as Kuroo tugs on the front of his shirt to pull him down into a brief kiss. As much as he wanted to kiss him again and again until they were both out of breath, Tsukishima settles for nudging their noses together with a soft sigh. There were too many wires hooked up to Kuroo that he was afraid of snagging to do any more than that. They were also enough reason for Tsukishima to suspect more than just a headache from Kuroo.

“I thought you died or got royally fucked up.”  
“Nope, I’m fine.”  
“I’m still mad at you.”  
“You’re allowed to be.”  
“Asshole.”  
“Hey. You know I wouldn’t go and die on you like that. That would just be downright rude.”

Kuroo’s hand snakes around to press against the back of Tsukishima’s neck to press their foreheads together. 

“Don’t do something like that again.”  
“It wasn’t my fault, though.”  
“I don’t care. Don’t do something stupid like that again. You scared me shitless.”  
“Did you cry for me, princess?”

While he didn’t cry then, Tsukishima had half a mind to cry now. He wouldn’t, though. If he didn’t cry then, he wouldn’t cry now, especially not in front of Kuroo. Still, it was hard to suppress the way that his voice wavered in response to Kuroo’s question.

“No… I didn’t.”  
“Good.”

Kuroo smiles, and if it weren’t for the scratches up the side of Kuroo’s face, Tsukishima would have thumbed over the dimple on his left cheek. 

“Crying over me would be a stupid thing to do.”  
“It would.”  
“Can you smile for me, though?”  
“No.”  
“It’d make me feel better.”  
“It wouldn’t.”

Despite his answer and the way that Tsukishima shook his head, a small smile tugs on the corners of Tsukishima’s lips. Normally he would say that he would smile if Kuroo gave him a reason to, but this time, Kuroo gave him more than enough reason. The smile quivers, but Kuroo quickly kisses away the shakes. 

“Told you I’d see it again.”  
“Whatever.”  
“C’mere, Tsukki. Lie down next to me.”  
“There’s no room.”  
“We can make room.”  
“No, I’ll pass.”

Instead of crawling in beside Kuroo, Tsukishima sits down at the edge of the bed, careful not to sit on any wires or tubes. Kuroo’s hand rubs up and down his back, and Tsukishima shuts his eyes with a soft sigh.

“Hey, Tsukki.”  
“What?”  
“You know that thing people say? The whole thing about watching your life before you die or what not?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I think I saw it.”  
“Was it boring?”  
“Hahah, yeah.”

That was to be expected. Kuroo’s life up until now consisted of schoolwork and volleyball. He would have felt bad if Kuroo died without any memories to look back on fondly.

“But, I think I saw all things I would’ve missed out on if I did croak.”

Tsukishima cocks a brow and tips his head to the side at that. It sounded like a load of bullshit, but he would humor Kuroo for now, and he would hope that he was in his right mind and that it wasn’t whatever painkillers he was hopped up on speaking for him. 

“Yeah, it was pretty cool.”  
“What did you see?”  
“Well, I saw your high school graduation, my college graduation, and I saw me getting my first job. I saw myself making something a living off of playing volleyball.”  
“No offense, but that doesn’t sound too interesting.”  
“Ugh, can you let me finish? I’m trying to say something nice for once.”  
“Sorry, sorry.”  
“And I saw the inside of a church. You were standing at the altar with me.”

If Tsukishima were the one hooked up to the EKG, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it would have beeped twice as fast as the one connected to Kuroo. His face flushes a shade of dark red, and Tsukishima glances to the side with a huff. 

“Cool, right?”

The tease in Kuroo’s tone was back, but there was an underlying seriousness to it all that made Tsukishima want to punch or kiss him. 

“Yeah.”  
“See?”  
“Just kidding. I’d never let you marry me in a church.”

Kuroo laughs, and he slips his arm around Tsukishima’s waist to tug him closer. Tsukishima lets him, far too preoccupied with trying to force his cheeks to stop burning to nudge Kuroo away.

“Does that mean you’d let me marry you somewhere else?”  
“I guess.”  
“Marry me, then.”  
“Fuck off, Kuroo.”  
“So rude!”  
“Ask again in a few years.”  
“Will you say yes?”  
“Maybe.”  
“Will you?”  
“Yes.”

The smile on Tsukishima’s face returns, and this time Kuroo doesn’t point it out. Instead Kuroo runs his fingers through Tsukishima’s hair with a quiet hum that droned out the sound of any machines whirring or beeping.

“Since you won’t accept my proposal, will you at least give me a handjob while our parents are out?”  
“No. God. You’re so gross.”  
“But you love me.”  
“Sadly.”  
“I love you too, cutie.”

* * *

The sound of a soft ping wakes Tsukishima four days after Kuroo’s accident. He rubs at his eyes, and he gets out of his bed to walk over to his laptop. It pings again, and Tsukishima contemplates turning the sound notifications off for the millionth time since he added Kuroo onto his Skype account. He doesn’t, coming to the same conclusion as always that he would miss those pings if they went silent.

* * *

_[4/23/16, 7:24:39 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: Good morning, princess._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:24:44 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: You told me to message you as soon as I saw your message. So, here I am. By the way, I’m not a douche._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:24:50 PM] Tsukishima Kei: You are. Also, welcome back._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:24:55 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: You say that like I ever left to begin with._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:24:59 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: I told you; you’re stuck with me for a long, long time._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:25:02 PM] Tsukishima Kei: Good._  
 _[4/23/16, 7:25:04 PM] Kuroo Tetsurou: Good._

**Author's Note:**

> i wasn't planning on updating pings at all this week since i wasn't feeling super happy with what i have of it so far... and i decided that i'd rather outline the rest of the chapters before typing anything up (i got 1 1/2 of them done), but i felt bad.. so i wrote this real quick!
> 
> i was going to elaborate on the *~full extent~* of kuroo's trauma but i decided at the last minute i'd leave it up to reader's interpretation.. i would have gone too far into it and i didn't want to make this into "pings (kuroo dies again)" or anything lmfao
> 
> but! i hope you guys liked it..! and if you'd like, here's my [writing blog](http://bbarfs.tumblr.com/)!


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